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First sunrise in my new home. My house is the one with red shingles. I’m nestled in a little hillside overlooking the valley & can hear the Catholic church bells and prayer calls from the temples resound off the mountains. You’re a beauty, Ooty.
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Smells like adventure. Starting my 36-ish hour travel day to Ooty, India… Now. Namaste, my loves.
This may be a point of vanity, but as I pack for my 3 month trip to India, I’m avoiding looking like a “granola girl camping queen,” packing my trashiest clothing with the expectation that, because I am going to a “poorer” country, that I should dress the part.
I’ve done that before and, when I saw the people I was going to serve emerge from their ramshackle dwellings with immaculately clean clothing, styled hair, and clean faces, I felt like the dirty, poor person and that I was disrespecting them by my appearance because I was trying to “fit in.”
I have learned in my travels that just because you live below the poverty line does not mean you lose all dignity in your lifestyle. The people I have had the honor to work with take great pride (yet not vanity) in their appearance. They have a wealth of dignity amidst their material poverty. The floor may be dirt, but it is the cleanest swept dirt floor you’ve ever set foot on. Their shirt may be threadbare, but it is as clean as possible and they take great pride in that shirt.
If it wasn’t for television and media, I wouldn’t be surprised if natives of these countries believed North Americans to be the dirtiest, most uncaring and unkempt people based on appearances, as many of their interactions are based on backpackers and missionaries.
I have been guilty of this mentality: “Look poor to make the poor feel better about being poor.” Yet, in reality, after talking to the poor, they don’t understand why we dress ourselves so bad if we have so much money.
And so, as I pack, I am considering clothes that are practical yet give me a sense of that “fashionable dignity” that I have seen displayed in the locals I have worked with in the past. I am staying true to my style without extravagance, yet still remembering the clothes I pack I must still be able to carry on my back half-way across the world.
If anything, I desire for people to realize that “the poor” do not want to be reminded that they are poor. If anything, they have made me step up my game in how I present myself and the amount of hospitality I show to others. They don’t want charity, they want opportunity and dignity, just as you or I would want.
The farther away from home I travel, the more similarities I see in regards to family, community, hospitality, and respect. It just may look a little different that I’m accustomed to. We’re not so different, really.
Wendy shining her shoes for school. Los Brasiles, Nicaragua.
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Supporters of #picturechange really rocked it w/ their camera donations for this upcoming trip to India. Our students, all girls who have been rescued out of brothels, will be able to see their lives in a completely different way through these. I’m packing them up now and my heart is overflowing. Thank you thank you thank you. We can’t do it without you. (Taken with instagram)
Cumbia with electronica flair in English.
What great friends I have.
The amazing Molly Parden (www.mollyparden.com) and Joel Chandler volunteered to put on a House Show Benefit for us. This is just one example of ways people have been using their talents to help Picture Change help others.
If you would like more information of how to be involved or have an idea for a fundraiser or project, please contact us at info@picture-change.org.
